Read review, 'Immortal valor, the black medal of honor recipients of World War II'.

Kylie Newton

posted on 10 months ago — updated on 9 months ago

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The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and the 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition, by Robert Child, from Osprey Publishing, total pages 288.

From the publisher,

Author's Note

List of Illustrations

Introduction

PART ONE – CHARLES L. THOMAS

Chapter 1: Graduation Day

Chapter 2: Last Stop USA

Chapter 3: A Hell of Fire

PART TWO – VERNON J. BAKER

Chapter 4: The Boy from Cheyenne

Chapter 5: The Italian Front

Chapter 6: Storming the Castle

PART THREE – WILLY JAMES JR.

Chapter 7: A Fifth Platoon

Chapter 8: Crossing the Rhine

Chapter 9: Into the Lion's Mouth

PART FOUR – EDWARD ALLEN CARTER JR.

Chapter 10: Baptism by Fire

Chapter 11: A Mercenary Man

Chapter 12: March to the Rhine

PART FIVE – GEORGE WATSON

Chapter 13: Picnic at a Hanging

Chapter 14: Off to War

Chapter 15: Operation Lilliput

PART SIX – RUBEN RIVERS

Chapter 16: Black Gold

Chapter 17: A New Esprit de Corps

Chapter 18: Patton's Panthers

PART SEVEN – JOHN FOX

Chapter 19: Transfer Student

Chapter 20: Shipping Out

Chapter 21: Give 'em Hell

Epilogue: The Rest of the Story

Afterword: The Long Road to Recognition

Acknowledgments

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

The premise of the book is 'The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition', which is actually two topics, either one of which is a book in itself. However, the author, Robert Child, covers this off in less than 300 pages.

Given that, there is no in-depth analysis of racism in the US Army circa World War Two, or of the men themselves, much less the "50-year campaign to deny them their recognition", which, if there were, would be the subject of a Netflix movie by now.

This is an easy read, where the men are introduced with a basic biography, a brief description of their army career, and the circumstances that lead to their being nominated and awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military award in the US, awarded for extraordinary acts of valor in combat. Some of the award citations read fairly ordinarily, but I am sure were extraordinary when viewed in context.

I did enjoy reading this, and now my wife is reading it, too. There is some modelling inspiration, as well as a brief history of seven African Americans who served in the US Army during World War Two. It could be argued that at 288 pages all inclusive, covering seven persons, the book is a bit light on the subject, but it serves as a good introduction to each of the men profiled, and basis for further reading.

Recommended.